The 2017 Pacific Northwest Regional Championships
Portland, OR, WPH Press, 5/7/17
Day 3
Men’s Open Final: Townsend vs. Beall
Cody Townsend entered the final as the defending PNW Regional champion, but the Race 4 Eight’s #18 pro and Townsend’s greatest Oregon rival Dalton Beall would be seeking to end his reign as the Pacific Northwest’s regional champion.
Sporting his signature tank top, Beall took control of the first game with calculated aggression, building a 16-5 with kills and deep court Townsend errors. Beall closed out the first game after a brief Townsend rally, 21-10.
Beall continued to apply pressure in game two, never taking his foot off the gas en route to an 18-12 lead. With Beall just three points from the title, both guys were relentless, diving two or three times each per rally to extend rallies, with each rally ending with a one-inch high kill. Beall arrived at match point after a return of serve error from Townsend, but Townsend corrected his mistake on the next return, hitting a flat mouse with his left off the service return from 35 feet to fight off match point. Townsend would score three consecutive points but his rally would end there, as Beall earned a side out with a back wall kill and clinched the PNW title with a pass that stuck on the left wall.
Open Singles Final: Beall def Townsend 21-10, 21-15
Open finalists Beall and Townsend teamed up to win the doubles, toppling state rivals Matt Steele and Conor Casey in two games.
Open Doubles Final: Beall/Townsend def Steele/Casey 21-15, 21-12
Former Elite 8 WPH Women’s Pro Jennifer Hinman captured the women’s open singles with a two-game sweep against Kristen Steele, returning from a nearly three-year layoff and playing at the top of her game.
Huge thank you to PNW tournament director and WPH ambassador Nick Flores for organizing and directing a sensational tournament.
To view all of the brackets and result from the 2017 PNW Regionals, go here
For updates from each day of the event, scroll down.
Day 2
The 2017 Pacific Northwest Regional Championships, sponsored by the WPH, featured its largest regional field since 2012, with 116 players from seven states and two countries competing in 20 divisions at Portland’s Sunset Athletic Club on the first weekend in May.
“I’m really excited about the attendance,” barked PNW Regional Championships tournament director and WPH ambassador Nick Flores. “Of the 116 players entered, 61 didn’t play in last year’s regional tournament. Lots of new players!”
The Men’s Open Singles featured defending PNW regional champion Cody Townsend, R48 #18 Dalton Beall, R48 #26 Loren Collado, and Oregon veteran Matt Steele.
Saturday’s Men’s Open Singles semifinals produced a thriller between top 30 Race 4 Eight pros Dalton Beall and Loren Collado. Beall was seeking to regain his standing atop the Pacific Northwest handball mountain, while Collado was aiming to spoil an all-Oregon final. Collado took control of the match early, emphatically running away with the first game en route to a 15-4 domination. Buoyed by a raucous home crowd, Beall fought his way into the match, forcing a tiebreaker with inspired play. Beall would continue to ride his momentum in the tiebreaker, ousting the upstart California pro in the third game. “It was a tremendously thrilling tiebreaker, with at least 50 people jammed into small area, people standing on chairs to watch, many of the new handball players at our tournament had never seen handball at this level before. The players were receiving standing ovations after rallies!” stated tournament director Nick Flores.
Cody Townsend continued his quest to defend his PNW Regional title, dispatching Oregon veteran Matt Steele in two games in the upper bracket semifinals to face Beall for the second consecutive year for the championship.
Open Singles Semifinals
Townsend def Steele 15-8 15-9
Beall def Collado 4-15 15-5 15-8
Final: Cody Townsend vs. Dalton Beall
JR WPH PNW Clinic
JR WPH was proud to partner with the PNW Regionals in hosting a JR WPH clinic on Saturday evening at the PNW Regionals, hosted by tournament director Nick Flores and led by WPH coaches Dalton Beall and Cody Townsend. Coaches Beall and Townsend started the clinic with the group of junior and collegiate players discussing the importance and benefits of the proper warm-up, then divided the groups into two, with Coach Beall teaching the Power Serve and Coach Townsend teaching the back wall kill. After 15 minutes, the groups switched, with Coach Beall’s group shifting to Coach Townsend’s court to learn the back wall kill and Coach Townsend’s group shifting to Coach Beall’s court to learn the Power Serve. Following the stroke instruction, the students played King of the Court singles against one another and the coaches, gaining valuable experience and knowledge in point-play situations against Oregon’s top two players. Coach Beall and Coach Townsend wrapped up the clinic with cross-training handball tips for the group. Huge thank you to Nick Flores, Dalton Beall, and Cody Townsend for the outstanding clinic.
To follow all of the brackets and results from the 2017 Pacific Northwest Regional Championships, sponsored by the WPH, go here
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer
Day 1 at the PNW Regionals ’17
More than 116 handball players and fans descended on Sunset Athletic Club in Portland, Oregon for the biggest handball event of the year in the Pacific Northwest. The 2017 Pacific Northwest Regional Championships kicked off with the first round of open level singles and doubles, as well as masters, women, and collegiate stars.The Open level matches proceeded as expected, with local star and 2017 Multnomah Athletic Club singles champion Stephen Stenberg defeating Pacific University star Angel Marquez in two games, 15-3, 15-2, to advance to the quarterfinals. Stenberg will face #18 ranked WPH pro Dalton Beall. The favorites in the Open doubles also advanced, with Sean Steele and Josh Bateman defeating Stephen Stenberg and his brother Michael in a thrilling tiebreaker match, and #26 ranked WPH pro Loren Collado teamed with the Alaska State Champion Alfredo Herrera to defeat Jarrad Krueger and Andy Romanchock in two games.
In celebration of Cinco de Mayo, tournament organizers held a Mexican-themed fiesta for the players. Energy at the event was particularly high, as the added exposure from WPH greatly enhanced the Pacific Northwest’s most prestigious handball event.
Nick Flores
WPH Beat Writer
Log onto wphlive.tv, Like the World Players of Handball on Facebook, or follow the WPH on Twitter @dfwph and @wphlive for all of the handball news from on and off the court! The World Players of Handball is a non-profit foundation aiming to grow the game of handball through innovation and inspiring the next generation of players through junior clinics with Certified WPH Coaches, junior tournaments and the Race 4 Eight and WPH Outdoor tours.
David Fink
WPH Senior Writer